February 3, 2016

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute have created fuel out of thin air — directly converting carbon dioxide from air into methanol at relatively low temperatures for the first time. While methanol can’t currently compete with oil, it will be there when we run out of oil, the researchers note.

The researchers bubbled air through an aqueous solution of pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA), adding… read more

February 2, 2016

A NASA team plans to build the first integrated-photonics modem, using an emerging, potentially revolutionary technology that could transform everything from telecommunications, medical imaging, advanced manufacturing to national defense.

The cell phone-sized device incorporates optics-based functions, such as lasers, switches, and fiber-optic wires, onto a microchip similar to an integrated circuit found in all electronics hardware.

The device will be tested aboard the International Space Station beginning… read more

February 1, 2016

WHO director general Margaret Chan, M.D., declared on Feb. 1 that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America, following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in… read more

February 1, 2016

Portuguese researchers have demonstrated the first swarm of intelligent aquatic surface robots in a real-world environment.

Swarms of aquatic robots have the potential to scale to hundreds or thousands of robots and cover large areas, making them ideal for tasks such as environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and maritime surveillance. They can replace expensive manned vessels and can put the crew out of danger in many maritime missions.… read more

February 1, 2016

An international study headed by the European Graphene Flagship research consortium has found that graphene is a promising material for use in electrodes that interface with neurons, based on its excellent conductivity, flexibility for molding into complex shapes, biocompatibility, and stability within the body.

Relatively simple "unsupervised” learning system reveals important new information to microbiologists

January 29, 2016

A new machine-learning technique can uncover previously unknown features of organisms and their genes in large datasets, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University.

For example, the technique learned to identify the characteristic gene-expression patterns that appear when a bacterium is exposed in different conditions, such as low oxygen and the presence… read more

January 28, 2016

Engineers and biomedical scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a promising new approach for repairing severely damaged skeletal muscles: direct mechanical stimulation. It may be appropriate for major injuries commonly caused by motor vehicle accidents, other traumas, or nerve damage, which can lead to extensive scarring, fibrous tissue, and loss… read more

January 27, 2016

Researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have created a new technique using lens-free holograms that greatly enhances digital microscopy images, which are sometimes blurry and pixelated.

The new technique, called “wavelength scanning pixel super-resolution,” uses a device that captures a stack of digital images of the same specimen, each with a slightly different wavelength of light. Then, researchers apply a newly devised algorithm that divides the pixels… read more

January 27, 2016

University of Iowa | Cancer cells’ motion and accretion into tumors

Two University of Iowa studies have recorded the movements of cancerous human breast tissue cells in real time and in 3D — the first time cancer cells’ motion and accretion into tumors has been continuously tracked, the researchers believe.

The team discovered that cancerous cells, moving at move at 92 micrometers per hour (about twice the speed of healthy cells), actively recruit healthy cells into… read more

January 27, 2016

A deep-learning computer system called AlphaGo created by Google’s DeepMind team has defeated reigning three-time European Go champion Fan Hui 5 games to 0 — the first time a computer program has ever beaten a professional Go player, reports Google Research blog today (Jan. 27) — a feat previously thought to be at least a decade away.

“AlphaGo uses general machine-learning techniques to allow it to improve… read more

January 26, 2016

Doctors may one day be able to physically screen for breast cancer using pressure-sensitive rubber gloves to detect tumors, thanks to a transparent, bendable, and sensitive pressure sensor newly developed by Japanese and American teams.

Conventional pressure sensors can’t measure pressure changes accurately once they are twisted or wrinkled, making them unsuitable for use on complex and moving surfaces, and they can’t be miniaturized below 100 micrometers (0.1 millimeters)… read more

January 26, 2016

Harvard University scientists have evolved their microscale 3D printing technology to the fourth dimension, time. Inspired by natural structures like plants, which respond and change their form over time according to environmental stimuli, the team has designed 4D-printed hydrogel composite structures that change shape upon immersion in water.